1. What is licensing?
It is officially called the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and it was launched in March. It allows employers to fire workers but then claim a cash subsidy of up to 80% of their wages, with a limit of £ 2,500 per month. The money is claimed by the company and distributed to the staff, so that people have nothing to do themselves. Some employers choose to compensate for the 20% difference, others do not.
2. How many people are there in the program?
Huge numbers: the government revealed on Tuesday that the plan currently pays around 7.5 million employees, a quarter of the British private sector workforce. It was used by 935,000 companies.
3. How does it change?
It spans four months, until the end of October 2020, but with a series of changes. Above all, the rate of 80% is retained, which fears that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will reduce the government's contribution to 60%.
The big change, which comes into effect in early August, is that workers will be able to return to their part-time jobs. Currently, companies have to choose between putting staff on full leave where they don't work at all, or keeping them on full pay. As of August, unauthorized workers will be able to return to part-time work and employers will have to pay the wages of their staff without authorization.
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The government has stated that it is also looking into ways for people to receive additional training or learn new skills while on suspension and for their employer to receive money from the government.
4. What does this mean for employers?
The 80% remuneration level will be maintained, but companies will have to start contributing to the return of part-time staff. There are currently no details on what companies will pay, but employers may have to pay 20% of the wages of their suspended employees, while the government will pay the remaining 60%.
The Chancellor said: "We will ask employers to start sharing the cost of paying wages with the government."
In his official boardThe Treasury said: "The employer's payments will replace the current government contribution, ensuring that staff continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to £ 2,500 per month".
Employer groups welcomed the deal, but said they needed more details. Mike Cherry of the Federation of Small Business said, "We expect more details on the contributions that will be required from small employers after July. We need to make sure that these bonds are affordable for the many companies that have had no income for months, but which nevertheless have fixed costs to fear. "
5. What does this mean for workers?
This agreement paves the way for a partial return to work for workers and likely means that employers will be less likely to leave them permanently unemployed in the coming weeks. But there are still 10 weeks to go before the part-time program begins and, in the meantime, some employers may still decide to make massive layoffs. In this case, the employee will have to request a universal credit.
6. I am independent. Are you offering me something?
The government has said there will be no plan changes before July. You are currently offering the self-employed a taxable subsidy based on their previous monthly earnings in the past three years, representing up to 80% of earnings and a limit of £ 2,500 per month. To be eligible, you must have annual "earnings" (self-employment earnings) of less than £ 50,000 per year, according to HMRC.
The plan has been criticized for leaving certain groups of the self-employed without a safety net.
7. How much will it cost?
The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that the likely cost over the entire period March to July will be around £ 60 billion, or £ 12 billion per month.
The German regime, called KurzarbeitIt should cost at least 40 billion euros. It currently covers 10 million workers and is among the most generous, paying up to 67% of net wages lost due to shorter hours, up to a maximum of € 6,700 per month for employees with children, and 60% for those without children. Unlike the British system, German companies can allow staff to work part-time, which reduces costs.
In France, more than 12 million are covered by a device called Partial fireplace So far, it has cost 26 billion euros. It offers 70% of salary up to € 6,927 gross per month. Employees at minimum wage (SMIC) receive 100%. As with the German scheme, companies can only claim part of a worker's salary and many do, which limits costs to the Ministry of Finance.
Ireland's temporary wage subsidy program supports 450,000 workers. Since May 4, the plan has become more generous, paying an 85% subsidy of € 21,400. Like the British regime, it forces the complainants to stay at home and not to work, but the Irish government has signaled that this will change.
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